Crying Luffy
by KipperCat25
Summary: A bunch of Oneshots/Drabbles/Whatever you call these things.. Title is self-explanatory. Some may be AU. All include wet, salty, Luffy tears.
1. Luffy's Face

"What the heck is wrong with your face?" Sanji asked.

"What do you mean?" Luffy said, his bottom lip beginning to quiver.

"Just look at it!" Sanji began to laugh. "It's all messed up!"

"Lemme see!" Luffy screamed, running for the nearest mirror.

He looked in the mirror. "There's nothing wrong with my face!" he shouted.

"Sure there is," Sanji, who had followed Luffy, explained. "You just can't see it."

"That doesn't explain nothin'!" Luffy's lip was quivering like a bucking bull now.

"But it's so _ugly_!"

Luffy, with a final confused look in the mirror, began bawling and pushed past Sanji.

"Zooorrrooo! Sanji keeps saying there's something wrong with my face!" he sobbed, running towards Zoro's room.


	2. Luffy's Food

"What the hell? Who made this, _Luffy_?" Zoro said, spitting his food back out onto his plate.

"Actually, yeah," Sanji said.

"Why the hell did you let him make this?" Zoro roared. "You, of all people, should know that Luffy doesn't know a thing about cooking!"

"Sor_ry_," Sanji said sarcastically.

Zoro grunted. "Speaking of which, where is that apple head?"

"_Zooorrrrooo_! Why did you call me an apple head?" Luffy wailed, flying into the kitchen.

_Oh shit, _Zoro thought.

"I didn't mean it," he said.

"Yeah he did," Sanji said.

"Shut up, cook!" Zoro roared. "You're not helping!"

"Really, Zoro?" Luffy sniffed. "Did you really not mean it?"

Zoro stayed silent for a few seconds. Really, he _had _meant it, but in a friendly way. But there was no way he could convince Luffy of that.

Those few seconds were all Luffy needed to know the truth. "You _did _mean it!" he wailed, running from the kitchen. "I hate you, Zoro!"

* * *

**Leaving you with that cliffhanger...Man, I love cliffhangers! **

**...Well, these are oneshots...and drabbles, they're short enough, kinda, so...JUST SHUT UP, SELF!  
**


	3. Luffy's Hair

"Hey, Luffy," Nami said, "You're hair's all messed up. Let me fix it." She reached her hand towards him.

Luffy pushed her hand away. "I like it the way it is."

"But it's messed up. You don't want to have hair that's not perfect, do you?"

"Yeah," Luffy said.

"Good. Then I'm going to fix it." She reached her hand over again.

"No!" Luffy slapped her hand away this time.

"Yes, Luffy!" this time she took his right hand in hers so he couldn't slap her away and removed his hat, putting it on his lap. "Now watch. This won't hurt and it'll make all the difference."

"Nooooo!" Luffy started jerking around all over the place, trying to avoid Nami's hand. He screamed and shouted, attracting the attention of Sanji, who was standing on the deck thirty feet away.

"What's going on?" he asked, walking over. "Luffy being a baby?"

"I'm _not _a baby!" Luffy shouted. "I just don't want her touching me!"

Sanji looked at Nami.

"I'm just trying to fix his hair," she said.

Sanji nodded knowingly. "I'll give you a hand," he said, walking over to Luffy.

"Thank y-"

"NOOOOOOOOOO! GET OFF MEEEEE!" Sanji had placed his hands firmly down on Luffy's shoulders and dug both his knees under Luffy's armpits, preventing him from going anywhere.

Taking advantage of the moment Sanji had given him, Nami reached up with her free hand and straightened Luffy's hair, freeing it from the rumpled look it always seemed to have. Then she let go, and Sanji followed suit.

Luffy stood. "What did you do to me?" he wailed, almost crying.

"Look," Nami said, handing him a mirror. "Don't you look so much better now?"

Luffy stood there for a minute, looking at his reflection.

"Well?" Nami prompted.

"I _hate _it!" he sobbed, tears pouring down his face. "Zoooorrrrooo!" he wailed. "Nami and Sanji ruined my haaair!" He ran off to be comforted by Zoro.

"Why me?" Sanji asked. "I didn't even _touch _his hair."

Nami shrugged. "Who knows?" she said, walking away.

Sanji was left standing in the middle of the deck to feel guilty and to hear Luffy's sobbing and Zoro's comforting voice. Man, he was in for it.

* * *

**Leaving you with yet another cliffhanger...I've noticed I'm quite the fan of those. I'm now accepting requests for the next chapter. Review or drop me a PM and I'll consider your idea. :)**


	4. Luffy's Stomach

**Thanks to XFangHeartX for the awesome idea!**

* * *

"N-Nami…."

"What's wrong, Luffy?" Nami walked around the corner to see Luffy curled up into a ball on the couch, holding his stomach.

"It…h-hurts…" he groaned.

"What does?" Nami walked over to him.

"My tummy!" he wailed. "It HURTS!"

"Oh, Luffy, what happened?" she sat down on the couch next to him.

"N-nothing…"

"Well, _something _had to happen to make you like this…" Nami raised an eyebrow.

Luffy frowned, letting out a grunt of pain. "I…ate too much."

Nami laughed. "Too much of what? Chocolate chip cookies?"

"Y-yeah…"

Nami stopped laughing suddenly. "Oh."

Luffy inhaled sharply. "It _hurts…_"

"Alright, I'll go get Chopper…you stay put." She stood and walked out of the room.

Luffy groaned. If only his stomach could hold more…he was still _so_ hungry.

A minute later Nami came running back in, followed by Chopper.

"What's wrong, Luffy?" Chopper asked. "Did you eat too many cookies again?"

"Uh h-huh…" he groaned.

Chopper rummaged through his large medical kit for a while, before saying, "I'm afraid we don't have any painkillers left, Luffy. I guess I'll have to get some more the next time we get to an island."

"WHAT?" Luffy yelled. Then he grimaced in pain. "But it hurts _so _bad…"

Suddenly Sanji yelled, "Where are my beautiful CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES?" He walked into the living room and saw Luffy. "I should've known…"

Luffy began to cry. "I'm sorry, Sanji!" he wailed. "But my tummy hurts!"

"Did you put any different ingredients in the cookies this time?" Chopper asked in a doctorly fashion.

Sanji thought for a moment. "Yeah, actually," he said. "I added some pieces of chocolate cereal instead of chocolate chips."

"You _idiot_!" Nami yelled. "You know Luffy's allergic to chocolate cereal!"

"He is?" Sanji asked.

"I am?" Luffy said.

"Now Luffy could die from having an allergic reaction!" Nami was fuming.

"I can die?" Luffy's lip began to quiver. "I don't wanna die yet. I'm not the pirate king!" Tears began rolling down his cheeks.

"Oh, Luffy," Nami said. "You're not really going to die. I just wanted to make Sanji feel bad."

"I don't believe you!" Luffy yelled, holding his stomach. "I'm gonna die!" he sobbed.

Sanji, knowing he was going to be yelled at by Zoro the second he found out, walked away and locked himself in his room.

The second Sanji locked his door, Zoro walked into the living room and saw Luffy. "What happened?" he asked.

"Luffy's having an allergic reaction to the chocolate cereal that Sanji put in his cookies," Chopper explained.

"Man, is that cook gonna _get it_!" Zoro yelled. "Where is he?"

"He locked himself in his room to get away from you," Nami said.

Zoro stormed away.

Luffy was still bawling. "I'm gonna die!"he rolled around on the couch with his hands on his stomach. "Somebody save me!"

Just at that moment, Usopp walked in. "I'll save you, Luffy!" he said in a hero-y voice.

* * *

**I'm going to leave you to draw your own conclusions... :)**


	5. Luffy's Stuffed Animals

Luffy walked into his room and his eyes bugged out. "WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM?" he shouted. "WHERE ARE THEY?"

Zoro walked in behind him and looked around. "Where's what? I don't notice anything missing."

Luffy turned. "Uh, well, uh…"

"You had a secret stash, didn't you?" Zoro asked, smirking. "Now the only question is what the secret stash was _of._"

Luffy looked down sheepishly. "I was playing with my stuffed animals and went to go get some food. But when I came back, they weren't there!" he began crying.

"Luffy…" Zoro said. Then the full impact of what Luffy had just said hit him, and he burst out laughing. He fell on the floor holding his stomach. The impact caused the floorboards to shake with a loud _thud_ which brought the rest of the crew, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji, running.

"What happened? Are you okay?"Nami asked. Then she saw Zoro curled up in a ball on the floor, laughing his head off.

Sanji just stood there, smirking. "What's so funny?" he asked.

Tears rolled down Luffy's face. "I d-don't know," he said.

"Oi! Zoro! What's so funny?" Sanji asked.

In between laughs, Zoro managed to get the whole story out. "Luffy…haha….was playing with …haha… stuffed animals…hahahahaha! And now…haha…they're gone! Hahahahahaha!"

"Zoro! It's not funny!" Nami admonished. "You can see that those stuffed animals meant a lot to him. See how he's crying!" she pointed.

Zoro looked. "Sorry," he said, standing. "I couldn't help it."

"Why don't we look for them?" Usopp said.

"Okay…" Zoro said, stifling a chuckle. "But they couldn't have just disappeared. The only thing that could have happened was that someone stole them."

Luffy's tears dried instantly. "Really? Cool?" he rushed out of the room. "Let's go find the thief!"

Nami sighed. "Honestly, sometimes I don't know about that boy." Then she left the room, followed by the other three guys.

-x-x-x-x-

At the end of the day, all of the searching was to no avail. The stuffed animals were not found anywhere. So that night Luffy had to go to bed without them for the first time.

"I wish I had them," Luffy murmured. He looked out of the porthole up at the stars. "I hope they went to a better place…"

After a while, Luffy drifted off.

When he awoke a few hours later, he heard screaming. Then he realized it was his own.

Luffy stopped screaming. "Wait, why am I screaming again?" he wondered. "Oh yeah, I had a nightmare!" then he resumed screaming.

Zoro came running. "Luffy?" he asked. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Luffy said. "I just had a nightmare."

"What about?" Zoro asked, walking into the room and sitting on the bed next to Luffy.

"My stuffed animals."

This time Zoro managed not to laugh, although barely.

"They were walking with me, the same height as me and everything, up a wooded mountain trail." He took a breath. "When all of a sudden, big pirates with two swords each came out of the woods and snatched them!" he stifled a sob. "I bet you could have beaten them, Zoro."

Zoro thought for a minute. "How many were there?"

"Ten."

"Hmm, I don't know…it would have been pretty tiring. I'm not sure if I would've been able to." When in truth, Zoro knew he could've beaten them all very easily. He just wanted to make Luffy feel better.

Luffy knew this. "Zoro," he said. "You knew you could've beaten them just as easily as cutting a rock to pieces. So stop lying. That's what Usopp is for."

Zoro grinned. "I know." Then he stood and left.

Luffy lay back down and stared out of the porthole. Suddenly, he saw three shapes dart across the sky. He knew who they were. They were the shapes of his stuffed animals, Johnny, Adrian, and Richard. They _had _gone to a better place.

Luffy smiled as tears of joy ran down his face. "Good bye, old friends," he murmured.

* * *

**This one is rather different from the rest, I believe. I think my style of writing OP changes every time I watch an episode... From funny to more serious, I think.**

**Anyway, I sat there thinking until I came up with this idea. Why? Because I wanted to work on this story. And, in case you haven't noticed, I recontinued Chopper's Worst Nightmare. Although, I still don't think I'll be working on it for a while. I've got severe writer's block coming in for that story. Oh well.  
**


	6. A Kitten Named Meat

**This could also be interpreted as "How Luffy Got His Scar". **

* * *

"_Meeooow!" _

Luffy laughed. "You're funny!" he said.

The kitten rolled around on the floor, playing with a feather on a string that Luffy had offered.

Suddenly, the kitten stood and faced Luffy, fur standing on end, and hissed.

"What's the matter, little fella?" Luffyasked. He turned around. Zoro was standing there.

"What're you doing, Zoro?" Luffy asked.

"Watching you play with an animal that's not allowed to be here," he answered.

Chopper came around the corner and saw the kitten.

"Hey, Chopper!" Luffy said. "Want to help me understand this cat?"

"Not really, but okay," Chopper came closer.

The kitten was still facing Zoro, hissing.

A second later, Chopper laughed. "He doesn't like you, Zoro. I think he's afraid of your swords."

Luffy laughed. "Hey, kitty, just don't make him mad," he said, pointing at Zoro. "Because then he'll slice and dice you up and give you to Sanji to cook."

The kitten backed away, tail between its legs.

"You made it afraid," Chopper said. He sat down on the deck next to Luffy. "Here, kitty kitty."

The kitten walked up to Chopper slowly, still keeping an eye on Zoro.

Chopper pulled a piece of meat out of his pocket and fed it to the kitten, which scarfed it down hungrily.

"I think he's hungry," Luffy said, eyeing the cat.

"Yeah, he is," Chopper said. He pulled some more meat morsels out of his pocket and handed them to Luffy. "Give him these, slowly. And-" Chopper added as an afterthought, "—Don't eat them yourself."

Luffy pouted.

"Zoro, keep an eye on him," Chopper instructed. "I have to go work on a vaccination."

Zoro nodded.

Chopper, seeming satisfied, walked away.

Luffy was feeding the kitten the meat pieces one at a time, like instructed. But the last one, the biggest, Luffy was keeping for himself. He was about to put it in his mouth when the kitten meowed angrily.

Luffy took the piece of meat away from his mouth. The kitten stopped meowing.

"Aw, but I'm hungry!" Luffy complained, moving the piece of meat towards his mouth again.

The kitten meowed angrily, even louder this time.

Luffy scowled. "_I'm _eating it, not you," he said. Then he put the piece of meat in his mouth.

When Luffy did that, the kitten went berserk. It started meowing and hissing, clawing his leg.

Luffy started chewing, completely oblivious to what the kitten was doing.

The kitten, noticing this, decided to take action. It climbed up on Luffy's lap, went back on two legs, jumped—and sliced Luffy directly under his left eye.

"OW!" Luffy screamed, jumping up. The piece of meat fell from his mouth, and the kitten, satisfied, ate it happily.

Zoro chuckled.

"It's not funny!" Luffy pouted, wiping away some blood under his eye. But as soon as he wiped the blood away, more came pouring out.

"Dumb cat!" Luffy said, running away. "CHOPPER! HELP!"

Zoro kept on laughing.

Suddenly, Nami came out of her map-making studio. "WHAT is going on here?" she eyed the cat. "And WHY is there a cat on this ship?"

Zoro forced himself to stop laughing. "Luffy brought it here," he said. "Chopper was helping Luffy take care of it, and Luffy tried to eat some of the kitten's food, and the kitten just jumped and sliced Luffy's eye."

Nami went over to the cat, picked it up, and was about to throw it over the side when she stopped. The kitten was holding onto her arm like it was afraid for its life, which it probably was and had good reason to be.

Nami sighed and put the kitten down. "We should name it," she said.

Luffy came back from Chopper's lab, bandages under his eye. "You're going to let me keep it?" he asked.

"Only if you name it Scar," she said, "In memory of how you got your scar."

Luffy pouted. "That's a horrible name!" he said. "Plus, the kitten's a girl!"

"How do you know?" Nami asked.

Chopper came out of his lab. "It's a boy," he said.

Luffy pouted. "But I don't _want _to name it Scar!" he shouted. His lip began to quiver.

"Then I'll throw it over the side," Nami said, moving to pick up the cat.

"_NO!" _Luffy roared. He saw the cat back away, tail between its legs, and he began to cry.

"Aw, Luffy," Nami said.

"I don't want it to be named Scar!" he sobbed. Then he picked up the kitten and ran towards his room. "I'll find a better name!" he stopped walking.

"What?" Zoro asked.

"I have a better name!" he announced.

"What is it?" Nami asked boredly.

"MEAT!"

Zoro, Nami, and Chopper all started laughing.

Luffy began to cry again. "You don't like his name!" Luffy shouted. "Come on, Meat, let's go play."

Then he walked away with tears running down his face.

* * *

**That's how Luffy got his scar! Heh heh. A kitten named Meat. Who woulda thunk?**

**Note: It's a parody/alternate storyline. For people who couldn't figure that out.  
**


	7. Sickness

Usopp walked in the room to find Luffy crying. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Luffy just shook his head and motioned for Usopp to leave.

"Okay…" Usopp was worried. Luffy never cried.

-x-x-x-

When Nami saw Luffy, she rushed over to him. "What happened?" she asked.

Luffy had tear stains on his face, and tears were threatening to spill over his eyelids. But he just shook his head, as if he couldn't speak.

Nami frowned, worried. Something had to be wrong. Luffy was never like that.

-x-x-x-

Zoro walked in the room to see Luffy facing the opposite wall, head on his knees. He'd heard from Nami and Usopp that Luffy had been crying all day, and he wanted to know why.

He walked over to Luffy and sat down next to him. "Hey, Luffy," he said.

Luffy didn't move.

"Luffy?"

Luffy fell over, head hitting the floor with a bang.

Zoro rolled him over to see if he was still alive.

Luffy's chest moved up and down, though slowly. He was just asleep. Zoro sighed with relief.

But, Zoro failed to notice something strange. Even though Luffy was asleep, tears were still pouring down his face.

-x-x-x-

Sanji walked up to Luffy, a plate of meat in his hands. "Here's dinner!" he announced.

Luffy turned around and stared at the meat. Then he made a face and waved it away.

Sanji just stared. Luffy had _never _refused food. Something was wrong with him. He decided to tell Chopper right away.

-x-x-x-

"So, you say he's been crying all day long, refusing food and comfort, and crying in his sleep?" Chopper asked, to clarify.

"I _think _he was crying in his sleep. I didn't actually see him, but since he's been crying all day it wouldn't surprise me." Zoro answered.

Nami nodded. "The rest of that is true," she said.

Luffy sat there, on a bed in the infirmary, staring. Tears poured out of his eyes, although Luffy made no sound.

Chopper made everyone leave the infirmary and sit outside while Chopper did the tests. He took Luffy's temperature, checked his heart rate and blood pressure, and did a couple of other things, taking notes on a clipboard all the while.

A minute later, Chopper walked out of the infirmary, set his clipboard down and sighed. "I think I know what's wrong with Luffy," he announced.

"What?" Zoro, Nami, Sanji, and Usopp chorused, staring at him with hopeful eyes.

Chopper cleared his throat. "He has I-can't-stop-crying-and-it-hurts-initis."

"Is it serious?" Zoro asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. But, with the proper medicine, he can be saved."

Nami and Usopp both sighed. Nami with relief, Usopp with sadness. He had wanted to be the captain.

Chopper handed everyone a slip of paper. "That's Luffy's daily dose of medicine, and he'll need to take it with food, preferably, unless you can't get him to eat any, which may occur for the first few days."

"Can I see him?" Zoro asked.

"Not right now," Chopper said, "Because he needs his rest. He didn't understand what was wrong with him until I explained it three times, that's how much stress he was under. And he may not be able to talk for a while, either. He was also severely dehydrated, and I had to hook him up to a fluids machine."

"From the crying," Usopp stated.

Chopper blinked. "Yes."

Everyone on the crew was glad that Luffy was going to live and he wouldn't be crying forever.

Sanji sighed. "I guess I shouldn't make as much food for the next few days. That'll be weird," he said.

Zoro nodded. "Yeah, probably."

Nami stood. "Now, nobody else get sick!" she commanded.

Everyone laughed. When the laughter died down, a weak laugh from inside the infirmary told everyone that Luffy was going to be fine.

Chopper sighed happily. Everything was going back to normal.

* * *

**I-can't-stop-crying-and-it-hurts-initis. Hehe. Poor Luffy.**


	8. Snowman Thief

The crew was in the living room, watching TV, when Luffy came into the room and stood in front of the television.

"I want to make a snowman!" Luffy announced.

"Move!" Nami commanded. "I'm trying to watch TV."

"No!" Luffy shouted. "I want to make a _snowman_!"

"Luffy, we're watching TV right now. We can make a snowman later," Zoro said.

"But I want to make a snowman _now_!"

"Why do you want to make a snowman, anyway?" Chopper asked, leaning to look around Luffy at the TV.

Luffy began throwing this huge tantrum saying that it was because no one ever taught him how to tie his shoes.

Now all attention was on him.

"Oh, so _that's _why you wear sandals all the time!" Sanji said.

Everyone burst out laughing, except Luffy, who probably didn't even understand what everyone was laughing about in the first place.

"So we can make a snowman now?" Luffy asked. "Because none of you are watching TV anymore."

"I am!" Sanji said, pretending to be offended. "But your fat behind is in my way."

"Sorry," Luffy said, moving out of the way.

All eyes went from him back to the TV.

Luffy scowled and stepped in front of the TV again. "You can't watch TV until you make a snowman with me." He commanded. "Captain's orders."

A collective sigh went around the group.

"I won't do it," Sanji said. "I'll just go make hot chocolate for when you all come back inside."

"Whatever," Luffy said. "Come on, guys!" he bounded out the back door.

"Don't you need a coat?" Nami asked.

"Nope!" Luffy was already bounding around in the snow.

The rest of the crew grabbed their coats, hats, and gloves and followed him outside.

Luffy was starting to make the bottom of his snowman, and the snowball was already two feet high.

"That was fast," Chopper commented.

"Well, he _is _a rubber man," Zoro said.

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?" Chopper replied.

Zoro thought for a minute. "I don't know."

Luffy waved from across the yard. "Aren't you guys going to help?" he shouted.

Nami sighed. "Fine." She grabbed some snow and began making the middle of the snowman. Chopper helped her, while Zoro set to work making the head.

A minute later, Luffy finished the bottom of the snowman and rolled it over to the middle of the yard. Then he went to collect some sticks and stones for the face.

-x-x-x-

Sanji grinned. "The moment I've been waiting for."

He grabbed his pellet gun and headed outside.

-x-x-x-

Nami and Chopper finished the middle part of the snowman and looked around for the bottom so they could put it on top. But the bottom was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, Luffy!" Nami called. "Where's the bottom?"

Luffy turned around, his eyes scanning the area where the bottom should have been. "It's gone!" he shouted, panicked. "There's a snowman thief somewhere!"

"Who could have stolen that?" Chopper asked. "It weighed a few hundred pounds! There's no _way _anyone could have taken it without us seeing him."

A tear rolled down Luffy's face. "He's gone…"

Zoro rolled his eyes. "It was just his butt, not the rest of him," he said. "We can just roll the body some more and make it the butt instead."

Luffy's eyes lit up and he wiped the tear away. "Okay!" he exclaimed.

-x-x-x-

Sanji grinned. Everything was going according to plan.

-x-x-x-

A few minutes later, the middle was enlarged enough to become the bottom, and it was rolled into place.

Luffy, who had dropped the sticks, said, "I'm going to get the sticks and rocks. You guys keep an eye on the snowman."

Everyone nodded. "Okay."

-x-x-x-

Sanji grabbed his pellet gun, tucked it in his apron, and headed outside.

-x-x-x-

Nami heard the door open and turned.

"I thought you said you weren't coming outside?" she asked.

Sanji looked up. "I'm not," he said. "I'm making iced coffee, and I've found that snow works better as an ingredient than actual ice."

"Whatever," Nami said. Then she turned back around and went to go see if Zoro was done with the head yet.

-x-x-x-

Zoro walked around the side of the house and scowled. "Hey guys!" he shouted, "Where's the snowman?"

Luffy turned again. His eyes grew wide, and he ran over. "AGAIN?" he shouted. "I TOLD YOU GUYS TO KEEP AN EYE ON IT!"

"We did!" Nami said. "No one got anywhere near it."

"Then how did it disappear?" Luffy pouted, his lip quivering.

"I don't know!" Chopper said. "Sanji came outside to get some snow, but that's all."

Luffy narrowed his eyes. "Maybe Sanji did it…but how?"

"I wouldn't put it past that love-cook to do something like that." Zoro said.

"How about we just make a mini snowman?" Chopper suggested. "You know, use the head as the bottom."

Luffy pouted. "I wanted it to be big…but okay. We're running out of snow anyway."

-x-x-x-

From inside the house, Sanji grinned. They were falling for it.

-x-x-x-

"There!" Luffy said, dusting his hands together. "All finished! And it didn't disappear this time!"

Nami nodded. "I wonder who did it?"

"I don't know," Chopper said.

Zoro grunted.

Suddenly, the door opened again and Sanji poked his head out. "Guys!" he called. "The drinks are ready!" He held the door open until everyone was inside, then said, "I need some more snow for the top of the hot chocolate, gimme a minute."

He took his pellet gun out of his apron and shot it rapidly, until the snowman was reduced to dust. Then he picked up a handful of snow and hurried back inside.

Inside, he was met by three angry faces and one crying one.

"Why did you shoot our snowman?" Luffy wailed. "He was a good man!"

Sanji smirked. "I was just having my fun. January Fool's!"

Luffy continued crying, and the rest of the crew was still glaring at him.

"Sorry?" he tried, also to no avail.

Suddenly, Luffy darted forward and grabbed Sanji's pellet gun from his apron.

The snow in Sanji's hands was now completely melted. "Uh, oh."

"GET HIM!" the crew shouted, all of them chasing after Sanji, Luffy shooting pellets at him the whole time.

"HELP!" Sanji yelled. "SOMEBODY HELP ME!" Sanji yelped as he was hit by pellets, running around the house.

He opened the door and ran outside. "HELP!"

The crew chased after him, Luffy shooting Sanji, laughing, and crying at the same time.

Sanji ran and ran, trying to get away from the stupid people he called his crew.

* * *

**Heh heh. Sanji was kind of like the villian in this one...**


	9. Hunger

**Another great idea by XFangHeartX. Thanks!**

* * *

"Saaanjiiii!" I'm hungry!" Luffy shouted, flying into the kitchen and bumping into Sanji.

Sanji scowled. "You aren't getting any food. _Especially _now that you made me drop Nami's ice cream." He growled.

Luffy whimpered slightly. His stomach growled, making Sanji grin. "No food for a week," Sanji announced.

Luffy's jaw dropped. "I can't survive that long without food!" he said.

"Sure you can." Sanji then set to work cleaning up the mess Luffy had made. "Now go to your room and don't come out for a week."

Luffy pouted, but obeyed. He was going to have to find a way to get food, or else he'd starve.

-x-x-x-

Luffy awoke that night to an angry stomach. He groaned. He needed food and he needed it _now. _

He stood and walked over to the left wall, which was the wall between his and Chopper's room. He rapped on it three times and listened.

Silence. He rapped on the wall three more times, louder.

He heard a groan from the other side.

"Whaa-?" Chopper said.

Luffy grinned. "Hey Chopper!" he called. "I'm literally going to starve to death, so can you please get me a snack?" he asked.

"Why don't you get it yourself?" Chopper shot back.

"'Cause Sanji won't let me eat for a week," Luffy said.

A pause. "Hold on," Chopper said.

Luffy sighed with relief.

Suddenly, there was a knock on his door. It was Chopper, holding three sandwiches. Luffy opened the door, snatched the sandwiches, and closed the door again.

"Sorry," was his explanation. "But Sanji won't let me out of my room, either."

Chopper stared at him through the window in the door. _He's gonna get sick if he doesn't eat, _he thought.

Chopper knew this from experience. One time, Sanji had given Luffy the same punishment, but after two days, he got really sick and had to go to the infirmary. Sanji never found out, though.

Chopper was going to have to have a talk with him.

-x-x-x-

"Hey Sanji," Chopper said the next morning at breakfast. "Why can't Luffy eat for a week?"

Sanji looked up. "Because he made me spill Nami-swan's ice cream."

Chopper took a deep breath. "Luffy gets really sick if he doesn't eat food for more than one day."

"How do you know? He did fine last time."

"No, he didn't. He got severely ill and had to go to the infirmary. No one told you, though."

Sanji dropped his fork. "Really?" he asked.

"Yeah," Nami said. "I remember that."

"Me too," Zoro said.

"So why don't you take him a plate of food and apologize?" Chopper asked.

Everyone stared at Sanji.

Sanji sweat dropped. "Uh…" he gave a nervous smile.

Zoro glared at him.

"Fine," Sanji said. "I'll take him some food." He grabbed a plate and began filling it.

-x-x-x-

In his room, Luffy was sobbing. Long, heaving sobs. He needed food. _Now. _He knew that. But there was no way he was getting any.

Luffy knew that what had happened last time was beginning to happen again. It began with the crying, then escalated to extreme exhaustion and nausea. Then he would start throwing up everywhere.

He didn't want that to happen again. But it was.

Luffy let out another heart-wrenching sob. It was so loud that he didn't hear the door open and Sanji step into the room.

He jumped when Sanji laid a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, vision blurry.

Sanji was holding a plate full of meat, and Luffy's favorite, strawberries.

Luffy's eyes widened.

Sanji smiled. "Sorry about last time," he said. "I didn't want you to get sick."

Luffy took the plate of food and stared at it. "It's okay," he murmured. "You didn't know."

Then, like someone had set off a bomb, Luffy began inhaling food.

Chopper ran in from where he was standing outside the door and took the plate away from Luffy. He had been expecting this. "You're going to get sick if you eat it like that," he said. Then he began feeding the food to Luffy slowly, one piece at a time.

Sanji smiled. He was glad things could go back to the way they were before. "Hey moss-head!" he called. "Want to train with me?"

"No way, ero-cook," Zoro called back from the kitchen. "You're not strong enough to train with me."

Sanji's smile grew. Then he walked out of Luffy's room and back into the kitchen. He had to prepare lunch, and he wanted to make sure Luffy's plate had the most strawberries. And have another fight with Zoro.

* * *

**I don't think this was the best of chapters...but I still like it. XD Next chapter will have...YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE!**


	10. Poison

**Special thanks to SherlockMoriartyHouse500IQ for the idea and the beta! This one is the longest so far and more angsty. Hope you like it!**

* * *

"GOMU GOMU NO GATLING GUN!" a barrage of fists shot out at the foe.

"OW!" Luffy shouted. He had punched the creature many times, doing a great amount of damage, but one of its spikes had pierced Luffy's hand.

He backed away. "GOMU GOMU—hey!"

Spikes were shooting out of the creature's back, aiming directly at him. There were about fifteen of them, total.

Luffy grinned. "Think that'll stop me?" he taunted, stepping aside.

But the spikes just turned to follow Luffy.

Luffy scowled. "Who ever invented homing missiles, anyway?" he muttered. Then he began running.

The missiles picked up speed to follow him, and Luffy started to get nervous. He made a wide turn back towards the creature, hoping to redirect the spikes into it instead.

He was about ten feet away from the creature when the first of the spikes punctured his back.

He yowled. These spikes hurt _way _worse than they should have.

One by one, more spikes pierced Luffy's body.

He began getting woozy, and his run turned into a drunk's run, bobbing back and forth. A sharp pain pierced his skull, and he passed out.

-x-x-x-

"Did you see that thing? It was huge!" someone was saying.

Luffy opened his eyes and immediately shut them again. It was too bright. And he had a _horrible _headache. So he settled with listening instead.

"It was about ten feet tall, and it had spikes on its back that shot out at him!" the person said. "Its body was purple, and it had a shell, too. And then that cannon popped out and shot those homing missile spikes at him, and then he got all wobbly, like a drunk, and then he passed out!" it seemed like the person was trying to explain what had happened to someone else.

Luffy groaned. He really did have a horrible headache. Another pang shook his skull. He whimpered.

"He's AWAKE!" someone else yelled. Then there was the sound of running feet, and someone knelt next to him.

"Are you okay, Luffy?" there was a shadow over his face, so Luffy tried to open his eyes. Chopper was bending over him.

Luffy shook his head. He glanced over and saw Usopp talking to Nami. That was probably what he had heard.

"What's wrong?" Chopper seemed worried.

Luffy opened his mouth, but no words came out. So he moved his right hand, painfully, and pointed to his head.

"You have a headache?"

Luffy nodded.

Chopper frowned. "It must be a bad one, if you can't even talk," he muttered, rummaging around in his first aid kit.

Luffy said nothing, just watched Chopper.

Chopper pulled out an injection needle and filled it with a clear liquid. "This is some liquid ibuprofen," he said. "It will get rid of the headache."

Luffy nodded and held up his left arm for Chopper.

Chopper jammed the needle into his arm, and his vision swam. But he blinked and shook his head slightly, forcing himself to stay awake.

"Better?" Chopper asked.

Luffy thought. "Yeah," he said. He sat up and groaned. "I'm realleh sore…"

"The ibuprofen will help with that," Chopper said. "Now let's get you back to the Merry so you can rest."

Luffy nodded and tried to stand. But his legs felt like rubber and he fell back to the ground.

Chopper frowned. "It could have been worse, you know," he said. "If it wasn't for Zoro, you could be dead right now."

"Whaa-?" Luffy asked.

"He deflected the rest of the missiles with his swords and defeated the monster," Chopper explained.

Luffy nodded.

"Hey Zoro!" Chopper called. "Come take Luffy back to the Merry. He can't stand."

Zoro came over. He had a cut on his forehead and a mean-looking bruise on his left arm.

"Zoro?" Luffy asked, looking around. The medicine was making him really woozy.

"Right here," a voice came from his right.

He turned his head. "Oh…" he said weakly. "Hey."

Zoro picked Luffy up effortlessly. "Hey."

"Thanks…you help'd meh…"

Zoro looked down at him worriedly. "No problem."

"Take meh to dah Merry now?" Luffy asked.

"Yes."

"Don't furgit mah hat!"

"It's on your head, Luffy," Zoro said.

Luffy's arm flew up to check, hitting Zoro in the face.

"Sorry." He said.

Zoro shook his head. "It's fine. Just go to sleep now, Luffy. It'll make it easier for all of us."

Luffy nodded and rested his head against Zoro's chest. A minute later, he began snoring softly.

Zoro smiled. He could be really peaceful when he wanted to be.

-x-x-x-

When Luffy awoke, he heard moaning. It took him a minute to realize that it was his own.

He groaned and sat up. His head felt like someone had run it over with a truck. He was shirtless, and was in the infirmary.

Chopper appeared in his field of vision. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

"My head hurts." He rubbed it.

"Other than that?"

He thought for a minute, evaluating each of his body parts. "My back, where all those missiles hit me." He rolled over to let Chopper see.

"Hmm…" Chopper said.

"They bad?"

"No…just a little red and puffed up is all. They should heal by themselves in a few days."

Luffy rolled back over. "Can I leave?"

"Yeah, unless you want something for your headache."

Luffy shook his head. "I've slept too long already. I need to get to work." He tried to stand, wobbled, sat down, and tried again. This time he managed it, and took a few experimental steps.

"Be careful," Chopper advised. "I don't want you back in here in five minutes because you fell on the deck."

"I will," Luffy answered. He walked out of the infirmary, only wobbling slightly.

He winced. His head hurt like crazy.

-x-x-x-

Walking into the kitchen, Luffy saw Sanji making breakfast, and Zoro was sitting at the table. As usual, they were fighting. Luffy took a seat at the table.

"I bet you can't even make a decent meal," Zoro said.

"Yeah? Let's see you try." Sanji shot back.

"You're the cook."

"Well, _you're _the swordsman."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"What does my being a cook have to do with anything?"

Luffy couldn't take anymore. "Guys, STOP!" he shouted, wincing as he did so. "You're making my headache worse."

The two immediately stopped bickering.

"How're you feeling?" Sanji asked.

"Eh. I've been better," he answered. He turned to Zoro. "How about you?" he motioned to his bruise and cut.

"I'm fine," Zoro answered.

Luffy nodded. "Good."

"Here's your breakfast," Sanji said, putting a plate at Luffy's spot.

Luffy licked his lips hungrily. "Yum!" he said. Then he practically inhaled his food and was done in less than a minute.

"That was good, Sanji!" Luffy said. He stood and exited the room. "I've got to go check up on Nami's progress. Do either of you know where she is?"

Zoro nodded. "She's on watch duty."

"Thanks, Zolo."

"My name's not Zolo!" Zoro shouted.

Luffy cackled. "I was just joking."

Zoro scowled. "You better have been." But his words fell on deaf ears. Luffy had already left.

-x-x-x-

Luffy stepped out onto the deck and winced, rubbing his head. This headache was really getting annoying.

Nami saw him and climbed down from the crow's nest. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's nothing. I've just got a headache, is all." He said. He changed the subject. "So how're your maps coming along?"

Nami looked dubious, but went along with it anyway. "Fine," she said.

Luffy nodded. "Good. Now do you know where Usopp is?"

Nami pointed. "Over there, playing with Franky."

"Thanks." Then he ran off.

"Hey Usopp!" Luffy called. "How'd you manage to get Franky to take a break from his work to play with you?"

"I forced him to. And he's been begging to leave ever since."

Franky nodded. "You know, I really want some Cola. I think I'll go get some. Catch you guys later!" he zoomed off.

"Not so fast!" Luffy latched on to his collar and dragged him back. "How's the building coming along?"

"The new room of the ship is almost done," Franky answered.

"Good." Luffy let go and Franky shot away again.

"Usopp. How's the weapons practice?"

"I hit the mark every time!" Usopp struck a pose.

"Yeah, whatever." Then Luffy walked away. He _had _to find somewhere private to wait out this headache. It was _killing _him.

Luffy walked into Zoro's training room and looked at the clock. He still had an hour before Zoro would come in to train. He sat down on his weight set and put his head in his hands.

He had no idea what this headache was from. That was what scared him. It had started soon after he fought that monster, the Clumbara. But there wasn't any way that _that _could have influenced this headache.

Luffy whimpered as another sharp pang went through his skull. A tear rolled down his cheek.

Suddenly, Luffy heard someone enter the weight room.

"Luffy? What are you doing here?" It was Zoro.

Luffy said nothing.

Zoro walked over to him and sat down next to him on the weight set, dropping his towel, shirt, and water bottle on the floor next to him.

"What's wrong?" he laid a hand on Luffy's shoulder.

Luffy looked up. "My head _hurts." _

Zoro could see that Luffy's face was tearstained, and his face was flushed. "It still hurts?"

Luffy nodded.

Zoro frowned. Something had to be wrong. But he had no idea what it was.

"Zoro?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I stay here while you train?"

"For what?"

"To talk to you." Luffy let out a sob and rubbed his head.

"Sure," Zoro said, giving Luffy a pat on the back.

Luffy smiled weakly. "Thanks."

Zoro stood. He normally used the weight set that Luffy was sitting on first, but he didn't want to make him move.

Luffy knew this, so he moved to stand.

"No, it's okay," Zoro said, pushing him back down. "You stay here, and lay down if you want."

Luffy obeyed, saying nothing.

Zoro walked over to the treadmill and got on. He set the speed on "medium" and began running. "So what did you want to talk about?" he asked.

"I'm scared."

That surprised Zoro so much that he almost fell off the treadmill. Ever since he'd known him, Luffy had _never _said that.

"Why?"

"I don't know what this headache is from," Luffy said, tears pouring out of his eyes. "And it's really bad. It never goes away, although sometimes it hurts more than others."

Zoro nodded. "Maybe you should go get some medicine from Chopper," he suggested.

"The only thing he'll give me is ibuprofen. And that makes me fall asleep." Luffy said.

Zoro nodded again. He understood why Luffy didn't want to fall asleep.

"And it hurts _so bad. _I've never experienced this much pain in my life." He rubbed his head.

Zoro stayed silent. He didn't know what to say to that.

"I'm worried that it might kill me…"

That did it. Zoro turned off the treadmill and walked over to Luffy. He put his hands on both of the boy's shoulders and shook him. Hard.

"Luffy. You're _not _going to die. Get that into your head right now." He stopped shaking Luffy and removed his hands.

Luffy's bottom lip quivered. "But it won't go away," he murmured.

Zoro blinked away a tear. It pained him to see Luffy like this. He decided to stop training for the day and take Luffy to Sanji, in the kitchen. If _that _didn't cheer Luffy up, then he didn't know what would.

Zoro picked Luffy up and carried him out.

Luffy let out a sob and buried his face in Zoro's chest. He smelled like the cologne that Usopp had bought him for Christmas last year.

Luffy smiled and relaxed.

Zoro's eyes widened. He looked down. "How are you relaxed only when I'm holding you?" he asked.

Luffy looked up. "Because you smell good," he said.

Zoro blinked. "Okay."

He walked into the kitchen and plunked Luffy down at the table. He turned to Sanji. "Cheer him up," he said.

Sanji looked at Luffy. "He looks fine to me."

"Give him a minute." Zoro turned and left.

"Sanji…."

"Yeah?" he turned.

"Am I going to die?"

Sanji raised his eyebrows. "What makes you think you're going to die, Luffy?"

"Well, Zoro told me I wasn't, and I want to know your opinion. My head feels like it's going to explode." He twirled his fingers, following the swirly pattern on the tablecloth.

Sanji took a deep breath. "Luffy, you're not going to die."

Luffy stood. "If you say so. Now what's for dinner?' he winced and put a hand to his head.

"Spaghetti."

"Ooooh! Can I help?" Luffy danced around Sanji.

"No, Luffy. You're sick." Sanji added some butter to a pot.

"I'm not sick! PLEEEEEASE?" Luffy begged.

"Luffy, you're just not good at cooking. Maybe—"

Suddenly Luffy let out a scream and clutched his head. Then he collapsed onto the floor.

-x-x-x-

Sanji panicked. "HELP! LUFFY JUST COLLAPSED!" he grabbed some ice out of the freezer and wrapped in a towel before placing it on Luffy's forehead.

A few seconds later, Zoro ran in, followed by Nami, Usopp, and Chopper.

Chopper ran over to Luffy and bent over him. "How did it happen?" he asked Sanji.

Sanji took several deep breaths to calm himself down. "He was asking if he could help me make spaghetti, and I said no, and then he screamed and….did that."

Chopper nodded. "Zoro, help me carry him to the infirmary. He needs a full checkup."

Zoro nodded. "Okay," he said, picking up Luffy." Zoro was still shirtless from his run on the treadmill. He followed Chopper to the infirmary.

"Put him there," Chopper instructed, motioning to the bed Luffy had been in earlier.

Zoro put him down and sat in a nearby chair.

Chopper rushed around Luffy, doing a bunch of tests and taking notes. A half an hour later, he sighed and put his clipboard down.

"What is it?" Zoro asked anxiously.

"Those spike missile things…they had a poison in them that was injected into Luffy's body when he was hit. It's a fairly common poison. It's called Cerebindium. I have the antidote."

Zoro nodded, trying to process all of that. "What does the poison do?"

"It depends on where it was injected. If it was injected anywhere other than the head, the victim may just feel discomfort in that area for a week or so. But if the victim was injected in the head…" he paused. "The poison eats away at the brain very slowly, causing great discomfort."

Zoro frowned. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GIVE HIM THE ANTIDOTE!" he exploded.

"There's one problem. The antidote makes the user very depressed for about a day."

"It's only one day. He'll be fine." Zoro waved his hand.

"It would be just like the pain Luffy experienced in his head, but in his heart instead. And it would make him cry uncontrollably."

Zoro grunted. "I know a way to get him to calm down." He said. "Just give it to him."

"Okay…" Chopper filled a vial with the light yellow liquid and stabbed a needle into Luffy's neck.

Zoro watched as the liquid slowly drained out of the vial.

When it was empty, Chopper took the needle out of Luffy's neck and placed a bandage on it.

"Should I wake him up or let him wake up himself?" Chopper wondered.

"Wake him up." Zoro said.

"Okay, if you say so." Chopper injected some sort of medicine into Luffy that made him sit up.

"Whaa…?" Luffy said.

"Luffy," Zoro said. "Come here."

Luffy looked at Zoro and began crying. "My heart hurts," he said.

"It's depression," Chopper explained. "From the antidote."

"I was poisoned?" Luffy looked at Chopper.

"Unfortunately, yes."

Luffy got up out of the bed and went over to Zoro. "What?"

Zoro stood. "Get on my back and go to sleep," he commanded.

Luffy climbed onto Zoro's back and rested his head on Zoro's shoulder. His muscles relaxed.

Zoro smiled a little.

Chopper watched, head tilted to one side. "How?" he asked.

"Luffy really likes the smell of my cologne. It's the same cologne his father used to wear."

Chopper nodded knowingly.

"I'll leave you to do…whatever doctors do," Zoro said, walking out of the infirmary.

Zoro sighed. It was going to be hard to carry Luffy around like this all day. But, he could do this instead of training.

Zoro walked into his room and sat down on his bed, putting Luffy beside him.

Luffy was crying. "Zoro?" he asked hoarsely. "Why do I keep crying?"

Zoro lay down on his bed. "Because you're depressed."

Luffy lay down next to Zoro and snuggled close. "You smell good," he said again.

Zoro smirked. "Yeah." He closed his eyes.

"Nap?"

Zoro nodded.

Luffy closed his eyes as well.

After a minute, they both drifted off to sleep.

-x-x-x-The Next Morning-x-x-x-

When Zoro awoke, he immediately looked over at Luffy. Luffy was still laying there, snuggled up to him, and his side was wet where Luffy had been crying on it.

Zoro sighed, making Luffy wake up.

He yawned and sat up. "Zoro?" he asked. "I'm hungry. I want to help Sanji make breakfast!" he jumped at the idea.

Zoro sat up and smiled. "You're better, Luffy," he said.

Luffy's eyes widened. "I am!" he exclaimed. "My head doesn't hurt anymore!" he jumped off the bed and started dancing around.

Zoro chuckled and slid off the bed. "Let's go out to the kitchen."

"Okay!" Luffy zoomed out of the room, Zoro close on his heels.

Luffy dashed into the kitchen. "Hey, Sanji!" he said. "What's for breakfast?"

Sanji turned. "Waffles and pancakes."

"OOOH! Can I help?"

Zoro entered the kitchen behind Luffy.

"No, you can't help, Luffy," Sanji said.

Zoro glared at Sanji. "Remember what happened last time?"

Sanji gulped and looked at Luffy. He sweatdropped. "S-sure, Luffy can help for a while," he said.

"YAY!" Luffy shouted. "What can I do?" he began rushing around the kitchen.

Zoro sighed and sat at the table, hands behind his head.

Luffy looked at him. "Do you want to help, Zoro?"

Zoro shook his head. "No thanks." He leaned back and watched.

He smiled. Things were finally going back to normal.

* * *

**Thanks again to SherlockMoriartyHouse500IQ!**

**Note: I noticed I put "felt like his legs were made of rubber" or something like that, and then after I wrote it and went back through, I said, "Wait...his legs ARE made of rubber..." XD  
**

**R&R! I'm still accepting more idea requests...although I still have one or two more to get through.  
**


	11. Fear of Hurting Others

"NAMI! Can I have some money?" Luffy called.

"No way! Why don't you use your own money?" Nami was mad that Luffy had interrupted her intense scrutiny of the magazines.

"Because I don't _have _any money!"

"And why's that?" Nami picked up a magazine with a colorful cover. It was called "Pirate Life".

"Because you took it all to buy a ring for Sanji!"

Nami bit her lip. Yes, she _had _taken his savings of 10,000 beri towards a ring for Sanji, and _yes _she still hadn't paid him back. But she couldn't. That command just didn't exist in her brain. Well, it _did, _but she just didn't like paying people back.

She sighed and took out some bills from her purse equal to half the amount she owed Luffy. "Here," she said, motioning at the bills.

"YAY!" Luffy said, rushing over and taking the money from her. Then he ran back over, picked up the thing he was going to buy and took it to the cash register.

After paying, he walked over to where Zoro was looking at some swords. "None of these are half as good as mine," he muttered. "But, I guess it would be good…"

"Whatcha doin'?" Luffy asked.

Zoro jumped. "Don't sneak up on people like that," he said.

"So what _are _you doing?" Luffy repeated.

"Just looking," Zoro answered. But he looked uncomfortable.

Luffy, naturally, didn't notice. "Okay!" he said, indifferent. "Want to play this new video game I bought with me when we get home?"

Zoro looked at it. It was called "Return of the Pirate Armada". "Sure," he said, mostly to keep Luffy from crying.

Just then, Nami walked over, having made her purchase. "You guys ready to go find the others?" she asked.

Zoro shook his head. "You guys go ahead. I'll come in a minute."

Nami gave him a look that said _you better not get lost _and walked away. Luffy followed a minute later.

Luckily, Zoro still had some money, so he didn't have to ask Nami for some in front of Luffy. That would've been awkward.

He looked around for another minute or so, then finally chose a sword with a black sheath and a white hilt. The blade was pure steel and slightly blunt.

He picked up the sword, weighing it.

Zoro nodded satisfactorily. It had all of the necessary elements that a sword needed. Balance, weight, and material.

He walked up to the cash register and made his purchase. The cashier put it in a large box upon request. Zoro thanked him and walked out.

He found the others, miraculously not getting lost. Of course Luffy wanted to know what was in the box, which made Zoro very uncomfortable. But he managed to keep it out of Luffy's reach and avoided telling him what was in it.

-x-x-x-

The second Luffy stepped in the door, he ran to the living room and put his game in the system. Everyone else just filed in and went to do whatever they usually did during the day.

A minute later, Luffy wailed, "NO! NO! I DID _NOT _WASTE MY MONEY FOR THIS NOT TO WORK!" he began sobbing.

Zoro walked by and saw Luffy crying. "What happened?" He asked.

"It won't work. Now you can't play it with me."

"That's fine. I have something to show you. Come out to the garage." He was fidgeting inside. He wondered how Luffy would react. Plus, he knew why Luffy's game wouldn't work. He had unplugged the system earlier today to clean behind it and had forgotten to plug it back in afterwards. But he would tell Luffy that later.

Luffy perked up. "A present?" He jumped up.

"Yeah, come on!"

-x-x-x-

Zoro pulled the long slender box out of a corner. "Open it," he commanded. "Carefully."

Luffy, jittery with excitement, took the lid off of the box.

He gasped. "A sword? But I don't know how to use it…"

"I'm going to give you lessons," Zoro announced. "In Ittoryu."

"COOL!" he picked up the sword in one hand.

"Careful," Zoro reprimanded. "Don't hurt yourself. Use two hands at first."

Luffy obeyed, so excited to be learning swordsmanship that he would do whatever Zoro said.

He walked over to Luffy and corrected his form. "Place your legs a little farther apart, like this," he moved Luffy's legs apart, "And hold the sword out in front of you, angled upwards."

Luffy did so, amazed at how powerful he felt. "It this what it feels like when you use your swords?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah, only tripled," he answered.

Luffy eyes bugged out.

Zoro unsheathed one of his swords, placing the rest down on the ground off to one side. He copied Luffy's stance.

"Now, I want you to try to defeat me," Zoro instructed. "The blade is kind of blunt, but not completely, so be careful and don't stab too hard. And avoid all vital organs, _please." _He emphasized this last part.

Luffy grinned. "Okay," he said. Then he rushed at Zoro and thrust his sword in an upward stroke, hitting the bottom of Zoro's.

Zoro easily pushed back down and deflected the shot. "That move would work on beginning swordsmen," he said, "But only if they have little to no experience. Try feinting left and attacking right."

"Okay." Luffy backed up and ran at Zoro again. He pretended to strike left, and his insides jumped when Zoro's sword moved to follow his strike. Then at the last second, he jabbed right, hoping to stab Zoro in the shoulder.

Zoro chuckled. "Good try," he said. Zoro had blocked this attack just as easily as the first.

Luffy pouted. "I'm going to attack you," he said, "And you won't see it coming." He backed up to the opposite side of the garage.

Zoro smirked. "Okay," he said.

Luffy held his sword straight out, the tip level with his nose. He ran at Zoro, sword still straight out, until a second before impact, when he swung his sword right after feinting left.

Luffy had expected Zoro to easily defend this attack as well, but Zoro's defending strike was a split second too late, and Luffy's sword sliced his shoulder.

Zoro hissed in pain.

Luffy, scared, dropped the sword. "I thought you s-said the blade was b-blunt?" he backed away, afraid that Zoro would be mad at him.

"It is. Just not completely. It can still do damage." Zoro took off his shirt and made a bandage.

Luffy's lip began to quiver. Seeing this, Zoro walked over to him and put his good arm around his shoulders.

"It's nothing major, Luffy," Zoro said. "I'll be fine."

"I d-didn't mean to hurt you, Z-Zoro," Luffy stammered.

Zoro frowned. Luffy was shaking.

"Luffy…hurting people with your blade is the art of swordsmanship. Well, that and training."

Luffy swallowed. "I don't t-think I'll be able to b-become a swordsman," he said. "That r-really shook me up."

"That's because it's your friend that you hurt. Now imagine if it was your enemy. How would you feel then?" Zoro rubbed Luffy's back.

Luffy thought. "I'd be disappointed, I guess, that I didn't kill him."

"Exactly."

Luffy stood up a little straighter and stopped trembling. "I'm going to become a swordsman," he said, "But how will I train? You're hurt."

"Fighting with an injury is something else you'll have to learn, Luffy," Zoro said. "Besides, it's not a major injury."

Luffy hesitated. "But what if you make it worse?"

"Luffy, I have _lots _of experience with fighting with injuries. Trust me." He stepped away from Luffy and walked over to the other side of the garage.

"Okay, Zoro. I trust you." Luffy picked up his dropped sword and stared at the blood at the tip. Then he took the tip and pricked his finger with it, drawing a drop of blood.

"C'mere, Zoro," he said.

Zoro walked over.

Luffy shoved his bleeding finger under the bandage and pressed it against the wound. "I solemnly swear that I'll never give up on swordsmanship," he said.

"A blood oath," Zoro muttered, surprised. Luffy must really be serious about becoming an Ittoryu swordsman.

Luffy withdrew his finger. Then he used a towel sitting off to the side to wipe Zoro's blood off of the sword.

He took his stance. "What are you waiting for, Zoro?"

Zoro smirked. He walked over to his spot and took a defensive stance. "En garde," he said.

Luffy laughed. "Sounds like we're fencing," he said.

"Yeah," Zoro replied, not for one second losing his focus. "Now I'm going to charge you, and you defend."

Luffy gulped. Zoro's sword wasn't blunt. But he swallowed his fear and nodded, muscles tightening.

Zoro saw these emotions pass Luffy's features and said nothing, though inside he was proud. Luffy was a brave guy.

* * *

**So? Do you think Luffy could become a swordsman? Hehe. I do. I think he's 100% capable of it.**


	12. Luffy's Clothes

**Special thanks to LuffyGirl for the idea! ...although I did tweak it some, sorry...**

* * *

Luffy walked up the gangplank and onto the Going Merry, happy that that battle was over and hoping he could get some rest.

But not one second after stepping foot on the ship, Nami came running out of the galley, fussing over his clothes.

_Well, so much for that idea, _Luffy thought.

"You're clothes are dirty and torn!" Nami reprimanded. "What happened?"

"I won a battle."

"Well your clothes are too filthy and ragged to wear anymore, Luffy."

"What am I supposed to wear then?" Luffy asked.

"I'll make you some new ones," Nami said.

Luffy stuck out his upper lip. "I don't _want _new clothes. Can't you just fix these ones? Or buy me new ones?"

Nami shook her head. "I'm not wasting money on new clothes for you," she said. "And if I were to fix those, you wouldn't have anything to wear. We can't have you going around naked, can we?"

Luffy shook his head.

"Good. So come into my office and I'll make you some new ones." She walked away.

Luffy followed her into the cabin.

Nami walked around, grabbing things she needed, and motioned to an old chair in the corner. "Sit," she said.

Luffy obeyed.

A minute later, Nami found the last thing she was looking for. "Aha." She pulled out a measuring tape.

"What's that for?" Luffy asked.

"To make measurements, idiot." She unrolled it. "Get over here."

Luffy stood and walked over.

"Arms up." Nami wrapped the measuring tape around his bust.

"Okay…" she made a note on a piece of paper.

She wrapped the tape around his waist next, making another note on the paper.

"Are you done yet?" Luffy said, arms still up in the air. "My arms are tired."

"Then put them down!" Nami yelled.

She wrapped it around his hips for the final measurement and made the note. "Done."

"So can I try them on?"

"I'M NOT DONE WITH THE CLOTHES YOU IDIOT! I'M ONLY DONE WITH THE MEASUREMENTS!"

Luffy cowered and went back to his chair in the corner. After a while, he fell asleep.

-x-x-x-

Luffy awoke some time later to a soft humming noise.

He opened his eyes and blinked. Nami was sitting in front of a sewing machine, humming as she worked.

Luffy watched her for a minute. She was quite peaceful like that.

She held up some cloth to the light and scrutinized it closely. Nodding satisfactorily, she set the cloth off to one side and stood, stretching. Then she looked over at Luffy and saw that he was awake.

"I finished your new clothes," she said.

Luffy nodded and stood. "Do they look the same as these ones?"

"Sort of."

Luffy looked down thoughtfully. "What if I don't like them?"

"You will. ZORO!" she yelled.

"Mmf?" It sounded like Zoro had just woken up. He appeared in the doorway a few seconds later, hair ruffled and clothes wrinkled.

"I made Luffy new clothes, and you're going to tell me if you think he looks good in them." Nami commanded.

"Whatever," Zoro said.

Nami huffed and handed the clothes to Luffy before stepping out into the hall. Zoro closed the door behind her.

Luffy sighed. "I really liked these clothes," he said sadly.

"Just try them on, I don't have all day." Zoro said.

Luffy unbuttoned his vest and put it off to one side. Then he picked up the new vest, which was royal purple, and slid it on, leaving it unbuttoned.

He took off his shorts and set them on top of his old vest, leaving him only in his boxers. He quickly grabbed the new shorts, which were blue like the old ones, but darker, and put them on. Then he turned and looked in the full length mirror.

His eyes widened slightly. He would never admit it to anyone, but he thought he looked _amazing. _He had never had such nice clothes in his life. A tear rolled down Luffy's cheek, settling on the edge of his chin.

Zoro saw this. "What's the matter?" he asked. "Don't you like them?"

Luffy nodded. "I-I like them," he said. "A lot."

Zoro's eyes widened in understanding. "You love them too much to say," he stated.

Luffy nodded again and swallowed. He looked in the mirror again.

This time, he noticed that there was a pocket sewn on the right side of the vest, where a breast pocket would be on a suit. The front was emblazoned with a shiny gold "L" in fancy lettering. Luffy smiled, fingering the "L".

Zoro uncrossed his arms and pushed off from the wall, walking over to Luffy. He slowly walked around him, disrupting Luffy's view of himself for a few seconds.

Multiple tears had made their way down Luffy's face, leaving trails that shone like the surface of the ocean.

Zoro placed a hand on Luffy's shoulder, getting a feel of the fabric for the first time. "Wow," he said. "You look amazing."

Luffy smiled and looked up at his first mate. A million feelings passed through him during that split second that their eyes met. Happiness, peace, determination, love—pretty much everything that could be imagined.

"Thanks," he murmured.

* * *

**So...I guess this could be interpreted as ZoLu, even though it wasn't originally intended to be that way. Oh well. **


	13. Chicken Pox

**Thanks to LuffyGirl for the idea!**

* * *

Luffy groaned and sat up. His body felt heavy, like he had someone sitting on him, and he was really itchy.

He slipped out of bed and yawned. "Man, what did I do yesterday?" he muttered, stretching out his muscles.

Luffy walked towards the door and was just about to reach for the handle when Zoro burst in. With one glance at Luffy, Zoro burst out laughing.

Luffy's eyes widened, and he began feeling anxious along with the heaviness and itching. "What's so funny?"

Zoro straightened up. "I think you should see Chopper," he said, before carefully walking past Luffy, being sure not to touch him.

"Why? What's wrong with me?" he walked over to the mirror hanging on the wall.

Zoro opened his mouth. "You might not want to—" he was interrupted by Luffy screaming.

"What is it? AHH! What's on me? Is it bugs? GET THEM OFF!" he danced around, slapping at his face.

"Luffy, you're going to make it worse!" Zoro walked over and placed his hands on Luffy's shoulders, cringing as he felt the bumps on his skin. He would _definitely _have to wash his hands afterwards.

"Stop!" he commanded.

Luffy stopped going crazy, although he still writhed under Zoro's grasp because of the itching.

"You have chicken pox," Zoro announced, "And Chopper can help it go away."

"I HAVE A DISEASE?!" Luffy began crying, tears running down his face and dripping onto his bare chest, aggravating the itching even more.

Zoro sighed. "Come on," he said. "I'll take you to Chopper."

Luffy obeyed, allowing himself to be led out of the room and into the infirmary where Chopper was sitting at a desk, working on some papers.

"I brought you a patient," Zoro said, thrusting Luffy forwards. Then he immediately groaned and rushed to the sink to wash his hands.

Chopper looked up. "Oh, my," he said. "It seems as though you have chicken pox."

"I know. FIX IT!" Luffy's bottom lip quivered.

"Okay, okay, don't cry," Chopper opened a cupboard and removed a vial of liquid. He poured some of it into an injection needle and beckoned Luffy closer.

Luffy whimpered but obeyed, the angry red welts on his body protesting with each step. He sat on the examination table.

Without even waiting for him to get settled, Chopper disinfected the spot and jabbed the needle into Luffy's arm.

Luffy yowled but managed to stay still, watching the liquid drain into his body. Immediately he began to feel some relief and sighed happily.

Chopper pulled the needle out and slapped a bandage on Luffy. "Stay in bed for three days," he commanded. "And when all of the welts are gone, burn your sheets and put new ones on. We don't need everyone else getting sick, too."

Luffy nodded. Then he began crying again.

"What's the matter _now?" _Zoro asked.

"My birthday's in two days!" he wailed.

* * *

**Sorry to all of the fans for this story...I've been working really hard on Emotional Harbor for the past few days and haven't had any free time to work on this. But...here it is! Chapter 13!**


	14. The Door

Zoro groaned and sat up. He was still sore from his late-night training the day before.

Vaguely, he remembered having been woken up by something. He wondered what it was.

He heard a faint sound coming from downstairs. It sounded like someone was trying to break into the house.

Ah. So _that's _what it had been.

Zoro sighed and attached his swords to his haramaki before creeping down the stairs. Upon reaching the bottom, he army rolled to just beside the door and picked himself up slowly, careful not to make any noise.

He peered out of the peephole to see who was there. His jaw dropped.

_Luffy _was standing there. And he was crying. Apparently he couldn't get the door open.

Zoro sighed and opened the door.

Luffy looked up at him happily and wiped his eyes. "You came to rescue me?"

"No. I came to teach you how to open the door."

Luffy pouted and sniffed. "How, then?"

Zoro ignored his last question. "How were you trying to open it?" He asked, closing the door.

"Like this," he pulled at the doorknob.

Zoro laughed. He couldn't help himself. "That's how you _close _the door, idiot!" he said. "Maybe you're even worse at directions than me!"

Luffy pouted. "So you push the doorknob then?" he asked.

Zoro nodded.

Luffy tried that, but the door _still _wouldn't open. He pouted.

Zoro burst out laughing again, causing Luffy to cry. He stopped.

"Sorry, Luffy," he said, giving the boy a pat on the back. "You're supposed to _twist _the doorknob too."

Luffy's face lit up and he tried that. The door swung open and hit the wall next to it. He dried his tears and did a happy dance.

Zoro sighed and went inside, closing the door behind him.

Luffy's smile set itself into a grim line. "How did Zoro say to open the door again?"

* * *

**That's what you get for having a severely forgetful and directionally challenged captain... **


	15. Porcupine Pricks

**Special thanks to XFangHeartX for the awesome idea!**

* * *

Zoro sighed and lay back against his pillow. He was really tired after his five-mile run and needed a nap.

Right when he was about to fall asleep, his door opened and smashed into the wall opposite it. Zoro sat up with a start, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Luffy was standing there, holding his behind. There were tear stains on his face. He sniffled.

"What's the matter, Luffy?" Zoro asked. "It better be important, because I just got back from a long run and I'm exhausted."

Luffy whimpered. "I sat on a porcupine," he said. "And now there are spikes in my butt."

Zoro just stared. He had a feeling of what Luffy would say next, and he wasn't looking forward to it.

"Can you—"

"NO!" Zoro exploded. "Why don't you go to Chopper or something?" He lay back down.

"Because. You were closer," Luffy said matter-of-factly.

Zoro just stared, saying nothing. Then he beckoned Luffy closer.

Luffy waddled towards him, still holding his butt. He turned around and waited, bracing himself.

Zoro reached out a hand, pausing for a second. "Oh, WHY ME?" He asked to no one in particular.

He stuck his hand down Luffy's pants and felt around until he found the three spikes. He pulled them out one by one, getting three consecutive squeaks from the captain. He threw the spikes in the trash and sat back.

Luffy turned. "Thanks, Zoro!" he exclaimed before running out of the room.

"Whatever…"

* * *

**I thought this was a little weird...xD**


	16. The Sand Castle

Luffy grabbed a glob of sand and smacked it down on top of his 'sandcastle'. "I'M DONE!" he announced.

Sanji came over and laughed. "It just looks like you picked up handfuls of wet sand and smashed them down on top of one another."

"I did!" Luffy pouted. "Don't you think it looks good?"

"Eh…erm…" Sanji, unable to find an answer, walked closer to the 'castle' and kicked it down.

"SANJI!" Luffy wailed. "Why did you kick over my amazing sandcastle?! It was the best one I've ever made!"

Sanji looked at Luffy, then the sandcastle, then Luffy again. Then he started laughing.

"SAAANJIII!" Luffy began sobbing, tears pouring out of his eyes and onto the demolished castle.

"Uh, oh," Sanji said. He looked around to see what direction Zoro was coming from and then ran the opposite way. He didn't want to have a duel with him right now.

"Sanji..." Zoro growled, stalking over from where he had been taking a nap under a palm tree. "Why did you interrupt my NAP?"

* * *

**Thanks to SherlockMoriartyHouse500IQ for the idea! **


	17. Lost at Sea

Luffy sighed unhappily. He wished life wouldn't be so _boring. _

Staring off the port side of the ship, he looked into the ocean. He really wished he could swim…or that something exciting would happen.

As he stared off into space, he didn't notice the person coming up behind him. So he was completely surprised to find himself falling off the ship and into the ocean.

Luffy screamed just before he hit the water with a _smack. _He plugged his nose and covered his mouth so he wouldn't inhale any water.

He kept his eyes trained on the side of the ship as he slowly sunk to the bottom. His back hit the bottom with a faint _thunk _and Luffy's vision began to swim.

Just when he thought he couldn't hold his breath any longer, a green blur jumped off the side of the ship and into the sea.

Luffy's eyes lit up hopefully. Zoro was coming to rescue him!

He began trembling with the effort of not breathing underwater.

Zoro looked around for a few seconds before finding Luffy lying on the ocean floor in some seaweed. He hurriedly swam over to him and wrapped his arms around his waist.

Luffy watched Zoro's arm muscles heave and strain as he swam upwards.

Breaking the surface, Zoro thrust Luffy upwards so that he could breathe.

Luffy gasped for air and wrapped his arms around Zoro's neck. Breathing heavily, he rested his head against Zoro's.

"Thanks…Zoro…" he murmured, tears intermixing with the salt water.

Zoro smiled. "NEVER do that again!" he said teasingly.

"I didn't do it!" Luffy protested. "I was pushed!"

"By who?" Zoro frowned. No one on the crew would ever push Luffy.

"I don't know." Luffy lost his grip on Zoro's shoulders, the water making the toned skin slippery. He slipped under that water with a gasp.

Zoro reached down and pulled Luffy back up.

Luffy coughed, having inhaled some water on the way down. He wrapped his arms around Zoro again, tighter.

Zoro put his arms around Luffy's waist, making sure he couldn't go under again. Now he kept the two of them afloat with only his feet. It was tricky.

"Where's the Merry?" Luffy asked, looking around. He enjoyed the feeling of Zoro's hands around his waist. It made him feel secure. He shivered.

Zoro looked around too. "I don't know," he said, surprised. Had he really swam that far? He frowned worriedly as Luffy shivered and pulled him closer.

Luffy sighed contentedly and rested his head on Zoro's shoulder.

Zoro began getting worried. He couldn't keep the two of them afloat for much longer. "Uh oh…" he muttered.


	18. Deceit

Luffy's eyes lit up as the mail bird flew overhead. Maybe he actually had some mail today…

To his delight, his hope was rewarded by a postcard fluttering down alongside the daily newspaper. Luffy ran out and caught the card before it could be washed into the ocean. Maybe it was from Shanks!

Flipping over the card, he sighed with disappointment. It was just another one of those mail ads. He was just about to throw it overboard when something caught his eye. A new word he had never seen before.

"Luuu…lua…lah…HEY ZORO!"

"Yeah?" Zoro asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and coming out onto the deck.

"What's this word?" Luffy pointed to the card.

Zoro took the card and read it over. "You mean this one?" he asked, pointing to the unfamiliar word.

Luffy nodded.

"Luau," Zoro explained. "It's a Hawaiian party."

"THAT'S SO COOL!" Luffy grinned hugely. "What else does it say? I didn't get to read the whole thing."

"You were invited to a Luau hosted by Lord Sputnik, whoever that is." Zoro handed the card back to Luffy. On the front there was a picture of a girl hula dancing.

"Can we go?" Luffy asked hopefully.

"No way! You don't know what kind of person this guy is! It could be a trap!"

Luffy pouted, his lower lip sticking out. A lone tear carved a path down his cheek.

Zoro clenched his jaw. He wasn't going to let this happen. He wasn't going to let himself be influenced by this boy's tears.

"Luffy…" he began.

"NO!" Luffy shouted. "I am going to the…lu…lua…LUAU! Whether you come or not is up to you. I don't care." He stalked off.

Zoro sighed. "Great," he said, rubbing his temples. "Now what am I going to do?"

* * *

Luffy hummed quietly to himself as he prepared a bag for the journey. The card said that the Luau was just ashore of his current position, at the home of Lord Sputnik. He didn't think it would be too hard to find.

He swung the bag over his shoulder and walked out to the galley. "Hey Sanji!" he called. "Do you want to come to the Luau with me?" He smiled, having finally gotten the word right.

Sanji turned from where he was peeling potatoes. "Luau?" he asked. "Where?"

"Lord…Sputnik's house," Luffy said. "It's just ashore from where we are now."

Sanji looked down at his potatoes, then back up at Luffy. "Man, I wish I could, but…You know, I've got to keep Nami and Robin happy," His eyes turned to hearts at the mention of their names.

Luffy frowned. "Alright…"

"Why don't you get Zoro to go with you? Or Chopper? I'm sure Chopper would want to go."

Luffy made a face at the mention of Zoro. "Zoro doesn't want me to go," he pointed out. "He says it might be a trap."

"That's true, it might be. But you can take care of yourself. I'm not worried."

Luffy smiled. He liked it when his crew mates trusted him.

"By the way, aren't you supposed to dress Hawaiian for this?" Sanji asked. His eyes took in Luffy's regular red vest and blue jeans.

Luffy frowned sadly. "I don't have any Hawaiian stuff," he pouted.

"I have a Hawaiian shirt you could borrow, if you wanted," Sanji said. "It has colorful flowers on it."

Luffy's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Sanji nodded. "I'll go get it. Watch these potatoes and make sure the water doesn't boil over the side."

He nodded and took a seat at the table, never for one second taking his eyes off of the potatoes.

Sanji returned a minute later, the shirt folded nicely in his hands. "Here," he said, handing Luffy the shirt.

Luffy smiled as he took it from Sanji. "Thanks," he said. "And I don't think your potatoes boiled over…"

Sanji laughed. "They didn't. Now put it on!"

Luffy took off his vest and hung it on the back of one of the chairs. Then he unbuttoned the shirt and slipped his arms through.

Sanji surveyed him for a minute before walking over and buttoning three of the buttons, which was a little more than halfway up.

"There," he said. "Girls will be falling for you like that."

"What?" Luffy asked, confused.

Sanji just chuckled. "Never mind."

Luffy picked up his bag and swung it over his shoulder. "I'm going to go find Chopper!" he said.

Sanji nodded and turned back to his potatoes. "Have fun!" he called.

"Thanks!" Luffy returned.

* * *

Luffy found Chopper sitting in the infirmary like he always did, reading a book.

"Hey, Chopper," Luffy said.

"Yeah?" Chopper looked up.

"Do you want to come to a Luau with me?"

Chopper's eyes lit up. "Of course! When are we leaving?"

"Now."

Chopper threw off his medical coat and hurriedly put on a Hawaiian shirt similar to the one Luffy was wearing. "Alright, I'm ready."

Luffy walked out onto the deck, Chopper in tow.

"You know," Chopper said nervously, "I'm not sure if it's safe for two Devil Fruit users to be going to this by themselves."

Luffy turned around, surprised. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"I don't know…just…never mind. Anyway, how are we getting there? Are we taking the Mini Merry?"

"Nope!" Luffy exclaimed. "No boat necessary!"

Chopper's eyes widened. "No…we're not..."

"Oh yes, we are." Luffy grabbed Chopper before he could run away and put him on his back.

"GUM GUM… ROCKET!"

* * *

"Man, that was FUN!" Luffy exclaimed as he and Chopper landed among the trees.

Chopper couldn't stop himself from shaking. "N-no it w-wasn't!" he said. "T-that was s-scary!"

"Oh, pfft, no it wasn't. Let's go! TO THE PARTAY!" Luffy began walking away.

Chopper stumbled in his haste to follow. He had already forgotten his earlier fright.

Luffy stopped and listened for a minute. "This way!" he announced, pushing his way through the shadowy trees.

Chopper stumbled again, the evening light making it hard for him to see.

All of a sudden, the trees ended and they were right in the middle of a party. There was nice Hawaiian music playing, and there were hot dogs roasting above the fire. It was just a joyous time.

Luffy went over to the food table immediately and picked up a ham.

"Hey!" a tall guy said. "What're you doing?"

Luffy turned towards the voice, the whole ham shoved between his jaws. "Ahhm etttin pa fooob," he said matter-of-factly.

The man just stared at him suspiciously, watching as Luffy's skin stretched to accommodate the ham. He narrowed his eyes.

"Who are you, kid?"

Luffy looked up again, surprised. He finished chewing and swallowed before answering. "My name's Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"

The man gasped before turning and running into an unlit part of the gathering.

"What's his problem?" Luffy wondered aloud.

"Uh…Luffy? I think we should go now." Chopper advised.

"What? Why? The party hasn't even heated up yet!"

"Look…" Chopper pointed in the direction the man had run.

Standing there were three unyielding lines of marines, their rifles pointed straight at Luffy.

"Go," Luffy commanded, pushing Chopper in the opposite direction. After waiting a few seconds to let Chopper have a head start, Luffy ran after him, dodging the bullets that were flying his way.

As he ran, he noticed that there wasn't any screaming. Everyone was just watching. He began getting a weird feeling in his gut that this wasn't a party. It was to be his execution platform.

His theory was proven correct when a group of people near him took off their clothes to reveal Marine uniforms underneath. They pulled guns from hiding places and took aim.

Luffy felt a tug as a bullet slammed into his side. He flung it away and continued running after Chopper.

A minute later Chopper let out a yell and collapsed, blood pooling from a gunshot wound in his leg.

Luffy, not even stopping for a second, scooped up the reindeer into his arms and continued running. If Chopper hadn't been with him, he would have stayed and fought the marines. But since he had Chopper's safety to worry about, he knew he couldn't.

Luffy screeched to a halt as Marines filtered in front of him. He whirled around, trying to search for a way out. There was none. Three unbroken lines surrounded them on all sides.

A feeling of desperation washed over him as he bent over Chopper to better protect him. His nose began to burn, and he blinked away tears. Now he was sorry he hadn't listened to Zoro.

The marines, figuring out that Luffy was immune to bullets, put away their guns and unsheathed their swords. Then, as one, they all rushed forward.

Time seemed to slow down. Luffy carefully set Chopper down and stood over him. He knew he was going to be injured here, and he didn't want Chopper to get hurt more than he already was. It was all his fault.

He knelt down and bent over top of Chopper, ready to die for his friend. He saw the marines getting closer, and he closed his eyes, waiting for the pain. But nothing happened.

There was a yell, and the marines began making noises of confusion, their bodies falling down around Luffy.

He looked up surprised. Zoro and Sanji were there.

Zoro looked down at Luffy and smirked. "Glad we're here, huh?" he said.

Luffy nodded, his eyes shining.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Sanji asked, annoyed. "Help us! Don't worry about Chopper, they aren't after him."

Luffy nodded again and stood up. He was happy he had nakama who would stand up for him no matter what, even if it endangered their own lives.

* * *

**It's finally here! HURRAY! I think this is one of my favorite chapters, actually. And isn't it ALWAYS Zoro who saves the day? Always. I mean, really. **


End file.
